I'm Collette and a lifelong friend of Melissa's. In Jan 2023 Melissa ended up in the ER not knowing what was causing her nausea and pain. Long story short, that pain was her body telling her that she had a virus (Anti-GBM) that was attacking her organs. Unfortunately, a few days later, she found out that the virus had caused her to have chronic kidney failure. She is now needing dialysis 5 days a week for 4 hours each time.

In Jan 2024, Melissa started the evaluation process to determine if she was a candidate for a kidney transplant. This consisted of multiple series of tests to learn about Melissa's overall health. Her sweet sister Laura went through the evaluation process to be a living donor. Unfortunately, Laura's kidneys didn't function well enough to be a donor. Now her brother Joe has volunteered to be a 'paired donor', which means you can donate a kidney to someone who is a match, and they find a match for Melissa. Our prayers were answered and Melissa is scheduled to receive a kidney on October 30 at the Mayo Clinic in Phoenix, AZ. She needs to be in AZ 2 weeks pre-surgery for tests, will be in the hospital approximately 7 days and will need to stay in AZ for up to 6-8 weeks post-surgery. Her insurance will cover the cost of the transplant, however, she will have significant additional expenses with travel, non-covered medical costs and day to day living expenses. Any help will assist in defraying these costs.

Melissa has been nothing but positive, handling every situation with grace, patience and strength. She still has a few hurdles in front of her but we are all very hopeful that everything will go well. Melissa, and her family, are beyond grateful for all of the love and support they have received from family and friends. Continued prayers for Melissa and her family.